The Canadian Medical Hall of Fame (CMHF) has inducted six individuals including two faculty members, Julio Montaner, Chair in AIDS Research and Head of Division of AIDS and Judith G. Hall, Professor Emerita of Pediatrics and Medical Genetics.
Dr. Judith G. Hall
Dr. Julio Montaner
The CMHF recognizes and celebrates individuals in medicine whose work has advanced human health and inspires the pursuit of careers in the health sciences. Their work may be a single meritorious contribution or a lifetime of superior accomplishments. Pioneers in their field, they are role models to young Canadians who wish to pursue careers in health science and is a source of inspiration for all Canadians to celebrate the important contributions made by Canadians to global health.
Watch Dr. Hall’s video below to learn more about her research on genetics and human congenital anomalies.
Dr. Hall is a pediatrician and geneticist, specializing in the genetic factors that affect children’s growth. With more than 325 publications, Dr. Hall has been at the international forefront of genetics and pediatrics for more than four decades. Her particular interests include human congenital anomalies including neural tube defects, connective tissue disorders such as arthrogryposis and dwarfism, and disorders resulting in short stature.
Data from her research is available in the Handbook of Physical Measurements, an essential resource for physicians worldwide. Dr. Hall has clarified medical understanding of how folic acid helps reduce birth defects and has developed new ways to classify dwarfism and other abnormalities. As head of paediatrics at UBC and BC Children’s Hospital, Dr. Hall worked with physicians to develop guidelines for care of common disorders, and with lay groups to explain genetic disease that helped parents choose among the available care options.
Watch Dr. Montaner’s video below to learn more about how Dr. Montaner has spent decades leading the fight against HIV and AIDS.
Dr. Montaner is a determined and passionate visionary whose life’s work has directly contributed to the increased survival and dignity of people living with HIV in Canada and the world. Dr. Montaner led an international consortium of investigators to test the viability of a novel triple drug combination called ‘highly active antiretroviral therapy’ (HAART) to suppress HIV replication, thereby sending the disease into full and lasting remission. Dr. Montaner has pioneered the notion of Treatment as Prevention (TasP), an expansion of HAART coverage to decrease both the progression of HIV to AIDS and death and HIV transmission. He is currently looking to apply the TasP model to other infectious diseases, including Hepatitis C.
In 2000, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UNAIDS program adopted HAART as the global standard of therapy. In 2013 TasP was incorporated in the WHO consolidated Anti-Retroviral Guidelines. He is the architect of the proposed UN 90-90-90 strategy aimed at ending the AIDS pandemic by 2030.
His focus includes HAART access in hard-to-reach populations, including injection drug users, and the treatment of multiple drug resistant HIV infection, both with great success. Dr. Montaner is the founding Co-Director of the Canadian HIV Trials Network and Director of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver.
“I am very honoured and humbled to be chosen for this award,” Dr. Montaner said. “I am convinced with the help of my colleagues, our government and the public, we can bring this epidemic to its knees, not just in B.C. but worldwide. Indeed, we are on our way in B.C. and our strategy is the model the rest of the world is adopting. I share this acknowledgment with my colleagues at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, whose contributions helped to create and refine new approaches to HIV and AIDS treatment.”
The 2015 Canadian Medical Hall of Fame inductees also include:
- Dr. Alan Bernstein
- Dr. Bernard Langer
- The late Dr. John McCrae
- Dr. Duncan G. Sinclair
The formal induction ceremony will be held on April 23, 2015 at the Metropolitan Entertainment Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba.